Wastewater systems vary in size and scope. They can be sized for treatment of large amounts of wastewater from a municipality or other large cumulative systems for benefiting many residences, businesses, and industrial facilities serviced by the municipality. The wastewater system can also be designed and sized for single home residential use and small scale residential and commercial uses.
In the small scale applications, the system will often include a septic tank that can receive wastewater and allow for solids from the wastewater to settle out. The system will also often include an infiltration field downstream of the septic tank for receiving the wastewater from the septic tank and for discharging the wastewater. The discharge is often made from pipes lying atop a bed of material laid for receipt of the wastewater.